A few days ago, there was a report in The Athletic detailing the tentative plan MLS is going to use to restart play after the MLS is Back Tournament concludes on August 11th. While nothing is official, it’s worth passing along some details to FC Dallas fans.
We highly encourage you to go read the article for the complete details, however, it is a subscription service.
It’s important to remember that state and local government guidelines will dictate whether or not fans can attend MLS matches in 2020.
The Remaining FC Dallas Schedule in 2020.
- Phase One – 6 games – Aug. 22 to Sept. 13.
- Phase Two – 12 games – Sept. 16 to Nov. 8.
- FC Dallas and Nashville have to make up 3 games each and will play each other 3 times to do so in a phase and at a time TBD.
- FCD will only play Western Conference teams, other than Nashville.
Before you ask, the phases have to do with how the Canadian teams are going to play. Getting in and out of Canada is the issue. For details, see the article.
Postseason
- 12-day gap between season and playoffs fits FIFA window Nov. 9-17.
- 18 teams, 9 per conference, single elimination.
- Start date Nov. 20.
- MLS Cup Dec. 12.
It would be nice if FCD and Nashville could play their games ahead of the official season restart, but it seems like we’re running out of time for that to happen. That way, all teams would theoretically have the same amount of wear and tear going into the re-re-start.
It will be interesting to see how things proceed with some of the lower leagues, which seem to have gotten restarted without any major hiccups. That could ultimately influence what MLS tries to do.
This would be a great opportunity for MLS to switch over to the Autumn/Spring season format that literally the entire rest of the world uses
Hoping that all of the players in both teams are in good health and body conditions by the time they recover from illness caused by this pandemic coronavirus to give us such an amazing and good game. Get well soon for those who are sick and Good luck for the upcoming game. Thank you for this update.